In a recent episode of “The Shop,” LeBron James opened up on never winning Defensive Player of the Year. James feels like he was robbed of the honor at least once, and compared the snub to Beyonce never winning Album of the Year.
“Defensive Player of the Year,” said James on an award he hasn’t won but still stings. “That’s the only award I don’t have in my house. That kind of stings. But I’ve talked about this before like, it doesn’t make sense. It’s what JJ said about [Beyonce] and how she has the most Grammys but hasn’t won Album of the Year. The Year I finished second in the DPOY award the guy who won Defensive Player of the Year didn’t even make first-team all-defense.”
https://twitter.com/TheShopUN/status/1780273412725932316
LeBron James has won just about everything there is to win in the NBA. But Defensive Player of the Year is the one award that he has yet to earn. The closest he came was probably the 2012-13 season, when he ranked second behind Memphis’ Marc Gasol. Yet, somehow, LeBron was named to the All-Defensive first team while Gasol was not.
LeBron was top 10 in Defensive Win Shares and Defensive Box Plus/Minus during a dominant season for the Miami Heat. By all accounts, James had a great case to win that DPOY year but it seems the voters just didn’t feel the same way at the time.
The only other instance that LeBron came second in Defensive Player of the Year voting was in the 2008-09 season, but Dwight Howard was a beast at the time, and his claim as the league’s top defensive big man was unchallenged. Sadly, LeBron never had his chance to win Defensive Player of the Year and he may never get the opportunity again at almost 40 years old now.
Is LeBron James An Underrated Defender?
Over 20 years in the NBA, LeBron James has made himself famous for the way he controls the game on offense. Whether it’s through sheer power, finesse, or strategy, LeBron always knows how to make the right move and he’s got an unlimited skill set in his arsenal to create opportunities for himself and others.
Defensively, while James may not be what he used to be, the guy was immovable in his prime. At 6’9” and 250 pounds, LeBron is an absolute beast on the court and he’s had plenty of defensive highlights in the past. Arguably the best of these came in the 2016 NBA Finals, which is often dubbed the best block in NBA history.
For years, LeBron always took the league’s best scorers and he, more often than not, really made a difference in their performance in the game. During his peak years with the Heat and Cavaliers, LeBron consistently had them as one of the best defensive teams in the league and his impact can still be felt on the Lakers today.
While it’s not technically too late for LeBron to win the award, that window has likely closed by now and James knows more than anyone that it’s Anthony Davis who sets the tone on that end these days.
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